Ashley Judd weeps over mom Naomi’s death: ‘I’m sorry she couldn’t hold on’
Naomi Judd’s daughters — Wynonna and Ashley — fought through the tears to honor their late mom at Sunday’s Country Music Hall of Fame induction.
The honor was delivered just 24 hours after the music matriarch’s passing by suicide after a battle with a longtime illness. She was 76.
“I didn’t prepare anything tonight because I knew mom would probably talk the most,” Wynonna, 57, began. “I’m gonna make this fast, because my heart’s broken, and I feel so blessed. It’s a very strange dynamic, to be this broken and this blessed.”
The sisters also quoted Psalm 23, a common hymn for funeral services.
“My mama loved you so much — and I’m sorry that she couldn’t hang on until today,” a sobbing Ashley, 54, told to the crowd gathered to honor her mother and sister.
“Your esteem for her and your regard for her really penetrated her heart, and it was your affection for her that did keep her going in the last years, and please come see Pop,” the “Divergent” actress said. “Pop” was her stepfather and Naomi’s husband, Larry Strickland.
“While this is so much about the Judds as a duo, I want to take a moment to recognize my sister, a GOAT,” she went on. Wynonna chimed in, “Though my heart is broken, I will continue to sing.”
Throughout the day before the ceremony, fans had gathered outside the museum where a photo of Naomi was surrounded by flowers at the entrance to pay homage to her musical legacy.
Naomi’s death cast a dark shadow over the otherwise celebratory event, where other country stars came out to perform in honor of the other inductees. Alongside the Judds, Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake were also memorialized at the event.
Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill and many more took the stage to perform their iconic songs during the event.
Wynonna and Ashley announced their mother’s death on Saturday, sharing the tragic news across social media.
“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the two said in a statement. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
The country crooner had been candid in the past about her mental health struggles, and in 2016, appeared on “Good Morning America” to open up about her battles. She revealed that she had been facing “extreme” and “severe depression,” which left her housebound.
The Judds had a series of hit songs throughout 1980s and 1990s, including Grammy-winning hits “Why Not Me,” “Mama He’s Crazy” and “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days).”
